Shloka 526
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
निपेतुरु्व्या च तथा विनदन्तो महारवान् | भरतनन्दन! कुछ गजराजोंके दाँत और सूँड़के अग्रभाग कट गये
sañjaya uvāca | nipetur urvyā ca tathā vinadanto mahāravān |
Sañjaya berkata: Mereka pun roboh ke tanah sambil mengaum dengan pekik yang dahsyat. Wahai keturunan Bharata, pada beberapa gajah agung, gading dan ujung belalai tertebas; pelipisnya terbelah dan para penunggangnya terbunuh. Dalam keadaan demikian, mereka lari ke sana kemari, menginjak-injak barisan mereka sendiri; dan akhirnya—menjerit keras—mereka ambruk ke bumi dan mati.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the brutal, uncontrollable fallout of war: once violence is unleashed, even powerful instruments like war-elephants become sources of indiscriminate destruction, harming friend and foe alike. It implicitly warns of the ethical cost and cascading suffering that accompany battle.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that wounded elephants—maimed in tusk and trunk, their temple-regions split and riders killed—panic and run in confusion, crushing their own troops. Finally, crying out loudly, they collapse to the earth and die.